Why focus on this topic?

Colonial policies, agendas and administrations have shaped many contemporary systems and structures. Food systems and agricultural planning in colonized nations were frequently restructured by colonial powers attempting to maximize their own profits. This often involved focusing on a limited number of cash crops that could be exported, at the expense of a more diverse array of foods consumed by local populations. We are exploring how the legacy of colonial rule impacts food systems, with repercussions for social, economic, environmental and health outcomes.

How is this research done?

We will synthesize evidence from the literature and key informant interviews to understand how colonialism continues to impact the food system, particularly in Canada, a settler colonial context. This evidence will be used to develop ‘systems stories’ in order to understand the repercussions of colonialism for food system outcomes.

What do we expect to find and why will it matter?

This project will assess the ongoing legacy of colonialism in the Canadian food system. It will map how the history of colonial administration and settler expansion has shaped current norms, policies and practices in the Canadian food system, which in turn shapes outcomes for Canada’s populations. Understanding these connections is crucial given barriers to food sovereignty and inequities in food security and diet quality among Indigenous and racialised settler communities in Canada, as well as issues of environmental degradation driven by food system activities.

This project constitutes an exploratory piece of work, aiming to develop an overview of colonial dynamics and interconnections across a wide range of food systems areas, with a view to informing the development of future, more in-depth collaborative research.

Outputs

Colonialism and the food system in Canada: visualisations of ‘systems stories’